Thursday, 13 April 2017

Milk Stout comes to Hull

Milk Stout seems to have spread throughout the whole of the UK almost immediately. I'm starting to get an inkling why.

below is a long and wordy advertisement from the Lion Brewery on London's South Bank. A dead impressive building that looked like a country house and had a giant lion on top of it.

As usual, a lot is made of Milk Stout's health benefits.

"The Lion Brewery Co.'s Milk Stout. WHAT IS IT?
It is a Stout brewed from Malt and Hope under a Patent Process, the result of long research in conjunction with one of the leading Food Experts Instead of Cane Sugar being used, the natural Sugar of Milk or Lactose is substituted to the extent that
EACH PINT BOTTLE CONTAINS THE ENERGISING CARBOHYDRATES OF HALF-A-PINT OF PURE DAIRY MILK.

MILK STOUT is not a "fancy" name, but contains the milk extract as stated above.
IT IS ANTI-RHEUMATIC, the reason for this being that Lactose has betm found by medical tests to be slightly diuretic, but without causing any irritation of the excretory organs. It therefore tends largely to remove acids from the system. This is a natural effect brought about by the natural Sugar of Milk.

It is a unique, pure Nourisning Stout, containing nothing but natural food. The Milk Extract gives it a deliriously soft palate without altering the flavour in any way.

It is an excellent drink for the healthy Man or Woman, the Invalid, and the Nursing Mother.

The Lion Brewery Co.s Milk Stout is more DIGESTlBLE than ordinary Stout.

MEDICAL PRESS OPINIONS.
The following are extracts from a few of the reports of the Medical Press after samples submitted by the Patentees had been analysed in their Laboratories:—

THE LANCET, September 11, 1909, says:— The claim is made in regard this malt liquor that the replacement of the ordinary brewing sugars with a certain proportion of milk sugar is an advantage, because milk sugar la unfementable, and therefore does not split up into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. We confirmed the presence of milk sugar by the phenyl-hydrazine test. The stout was in good condition and the flavour was excellent, while there was no undesirable excess of carbonic acid gas.

. . . . . .

A number of Testimonials have been received by the Patentees of which the following are specimens:—

From a Medical Man.
Gentlemen,
I am obliged to you for your specimen bottle of Milk Stout. I have recommended it to several of my patients and think it should be very useful, especially to those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

From a Medical Man.
Dr ----- wishes another dozen sent ... he considers the Milk Stout excellent, and it has benefited his wife, who during her stay in Hythe continued to take it.

From a Medical Man.
I received the sample of Stout, and the idea is an excellent one, especially for rheumatic patients, of which I am sorry to say I am one. However, I sampled it myself, although I have not drunk Malt Liquors for years; I had neither headache nor acidity after it, which I certainly could not say of ordinary stout. I shall have pleasure in recommending it, and shall try it again for myself.

Recommended by the Doctor.
Mrs . . having been recommended by her Doctor to try your Milk Stout, would feel obliged if you will send her a trial bottle, with particulars of where she can purchase it.

The bit missing from the centre is the piece from the Nursing Times that I've already published.

My guess is that is these positive reviews in medical publications and recommendations from doctors were key to Milk Stout's sudden fame and popularity. Remember that Mackeson only released their version in 1909.